


Christmas Woofs

by Hisagi90



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Derek's Birthday, Fluff, M/M, Wolf!Derek, you can see it as pre-slash or non-slash if you want
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-27
Updated: 2014-12-27
Packaged: 2018-03-03 21:05:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2887889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hisagi90/pseuds/Hisagi90
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Stiles,</i>
</p><p> </p><p>  <i>it's not the same, and it can't replace what was lost. But I hope this can be a new start.</i></p><p> </p><p>  <i>Derek</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Woofs

**Author's Note:**

> First of all this has been co-written with [Ree](http://packhowls.tumblr.com), who has also posted it on [tumblr](http://packhowls.tumblr.com/post/106077902085). And it was based on [this art](http://chofee.tumblr.com/post/102801987485).
> 
> It's a Christmas present for our friend [ChOFee](http://chofee.tumblr.com/), who's also the artist of the art mentioned above ;)

Since Peter first presented himself and turned Scott and Stiles' life upside down, much has changed. The kids in the pack were now seniors in high school, preparing for what lied afterward. College was such a crazy situation, and while everyone wanted to attend the local community college to be with each other, they also wanted to expand their horizons and learn what it was like to be on their own. Thus, they applied everywhere, and decided to wait for spring, when all the acceptance letters would come in; it was easy to push responsibilities into the future, to push away the realization that they had to grow up soon.

Stiles, resident human of the pack, was scared the most. Sure, he had a facade he wore all the time to show this sarcastic self that would get him in more trouble than in good standing, but every once in a while, it would break down, and the real Stiles would appear. He's less spastic, and not even close to fidgety. This Stiles is more reflective, isn't afraid to show his uncertainty-- or maybe he's not even aware of it.

This was one of those times.

One night on mid-October, where Stiles and Derek were hanging out eating at one of the old diners downtown, they were enjoying each other's company. The pack had its own cliques, and it seemed that Stiles and Derek were the oddballs out of them all and ended up spending time with each other as a result. It doesn't mean that they have lively chats every five minutes; rather, they just have comfort to have someone welcome their presence. Stiles is animatedly going on about how great this movie was: Guardians of the... Pluto? Solar system? Either or, Derek was only half-listening, relishing in the taste of a greasy burger when an employee made a fuss in the diner.

"Excuse me, ma'am, we don't allow dogs in the diner, especially ones that feel like the couch is their restroom to use!"

Derek could scent the woman's embarrassment as she hurried out of the door after paying for her meal (no tip, he noticed). He wasn't going to think anything of it until Stiles talked again, but in a less lively tone.

"Hey, Derek? What does it feel like when you shift into a wolf?"

Confused, Derek quirks an eyebrow towards the younger boy, who's staring thoughtfully at where the dog used to be. When Derek realized that silence was the only answer he was going to get, he knew that sarcastic answers wouldn't be well-appreciated. 

"It's... Complicated to describe. Physically it hurts to feel your bones and joints pop and rearrange. But when I'm truly one with my wolf like that... Everything feels calm. You don't really think as much as you feel." Derek was surprised at himself for rambling on this much. It seems the pack has had their influence on him.

"And how do you feel when you're a wolf?" Stiles asks, shifting his gaze to Derek, eyes calm, yet piercing into the wolf's eyes. It was difficult to understand where this conversation came from, but he gave his honest answer.

"Whole."

Another uncomfortable silence emerges and just when Derek is about to say something, Stiles looks back down to his plate of food and says, "My mom gave me a wolf plushie for my second Birthday."

Derek tenses, knowing he's going into uncharted territory.

"She told me that now that I was 2 years old, I'd have to start sleeping in my room now. I didn't want to because I was scared, and I loved sleeping with my mom and dad, you know? So she said that this wolf would protect me from the monsters that hide under the bed. I kept it with me for nearly ten years. Named him Woofs."

"What happened?" Derek asks.

Stiles flicks his eyes back up to Derek then back to his curly fries. "When she died, I couldn't bear to even think of her. Pitiful right? Every time I saw that wolf staring at me, I just couldn't bear it. So I did what I had to at the time and threw it away. Except now..."

"Now?"

"I wish I had him back."

* * * * *

It's Christmas Eve and Stiles is bummed, to say in the least. He wanted to be able to spend some time with his dad as per usual and just soak in the family atmosphere, but his dad got called in last minute for an emergency robbery. Thus, the boy was just sitting in his bed thinking about what to watch online to fill in the silence that swept through the house, just an hour before midnight. A few minutes into the searching process, Stiles gets startled by a tapping noise on his window. After all this time, he'd think that he wouldn't be so afraid of that anymore, but some things never change. He goes to open the window, but is definitely surprised to see that there is a very large wolf squirming its way through the window; and when it does, Stiles doesn't anticipate it sitting its haunches and staring directly at the teenager, tail slowly swishing back and forth. 

And then he gets it.

"Derek?"

A low woof comes from the animal, and yeah, with the black fur and unordinary bright blue eyes, he should've known.

"What are you doing out here? And as a mutt?" he asks, smirking when he gets Derek to snort and somehow glare as a wolf-- it's the little things in life. Obviously, he won't get an answer, but Derek ends up jumping onto the bed and motions his head towards the laptop and back at Stiles. 

Confused but amused, Stiles takes a moment but ultimately shrugs and plops back onto the bed with a grin on his face.

"So since you've never watched Guardians of the Galaxy before, I think that's going to be our lucky winner for tonight. You're gonna love Groot, he is totally me."

They make it halfway through the movie, Stiles petting Derek every few minutes (he's honestly surprised Derek hasn't tried to bite him yet), when the boy rests his head on the wolf and softly snores into the night. Moving slowly to not wake Stiles, Derek shimmies his way out of his grip to move out of the window, which Stiles forgot to lock. 

Stupid Stiles.

When he does make it out of the window, he pads his way to the roof to get a wolf plushie that looks so similar but not quite the same, carefully grabs it with his jaws, and squeezes back into the room. It was definitely awkward asking the Sheriff to describe the toy Stiles threw away, and there was a lot of squinting and narrowed eyebrows, but when Derek explained that he wanted to replace what Stiles threw away, the Sheriff's face softened in understanding and gave as much information as he could. The stuffed animal is now next to Stiles' bed, and on its leg is a note Derek prepared beforehand. Derek leaves the Stilinski household, unsure if he's done the right thing, but hopes that he will enjoy it nonetheless. 

**_Stiles,_ **

**_it's not the same, and it can't replace what was lost. But I hope this can be a new start._ **

**_Derek_ **

* * * * *

Stiles’ eyes keep blinking, but the ones in front of him won’t blink back.

How could they? Considering they are from a stuffed animal. A wolf plushie. The note on its leg lets Stiles know that it is from Derek. And he doesn’t know whether to feel overwhelmed because it looks so close to Woofs or happy because Derek remembered.

The teen is kinda happy that Derek didn’t decide to give him a name, at least none came along with the note. He would probably choose something like Woofs #2. But then again, Stiles wouldn’t put it past _himself_ to name it like that.

He doesn’t want to spend the day wallowing in memories and/or happiness, so he decides to make a last-minute present for Derek. Because today also happens to be his Birthday. And who even gets born around Christmas?

Stiles remembers his mom taking pictures when he was a kid; she loved to take pictures of everything. The shops and houses in the city, their neighbours and strangers coming through. If he remembers right, she even told him one time how she sometimes went into the woods. And if he’s lucky, then maybe she took a picture of the old Hale House.

He spends nearly two hours in the attic, but he comes off victorious when he finds a photo album with a picture of the Hale family in it. He hardly recognizes Derek, who seems to be only about 12 years old in the picture. He recognizes Talia, and the man next to her is holding a small kid on his arm, probably Cora. One girl who he guesses is Laura stands in front of Peter, and that man will never not be recognizable. There are over 10 other people he doesn’t know, but he thinks they were all family.

It’s probably not right to just take this photo, but his mom always wanted to make people happy and capture happy moments in pictures. So using this to give Derek _something_ to reminds him of his family… yeah, she’d approve of it.

Stiles looks around the many picture frames they kept there from his mom and once he finds one to fit the Hale family picture, he cleans up in a hurry and goes back to his room. He has a birthday present, now he only needs a Christmas present. And he has something in mind he started some time ago, it just needs a bit time to finish.

* * * * *

Four hours later he stands in front of the loft’s door. His backpack over one shoulder, two bags in on his arms and a take out container with cake in his hands. He pushes through the door, because Derek never locks it, and walks into the loft.

Derek is on the couch reading a book and he doesn’t look like he has moved in a long time. He looks up at Stiles when the teen puts the things down on the coffee table though.

“Yo.”

“Hey,” Derek greets back, but lifts an eyebrow in silent inquiry to what the other is doing here.

Stiles rolls his eyes and sits down on couch with this backpack once Derek sits up to make space for him.

“Thanks for the wolf plushie,” Stiles starts and can’t keep a smile from appearing on his face, “This really means a lot to me. But I guess you already knew that. But yeah… thank you.”

Derek only nods, but Stiles likes to think he doesn’t imagine the tips of his ears going red.

“So yeah, because today is a special day,” he begins and starts pulling out two hastily wrapped presents, “You get presents too. And there is also cake. Just so you know, even though I don’t know why old Nannie keeps her shop open on this day, I especially for you got the yummiest cake in whole Beacon Hills.”

Stiles pulls the take out container closer to open it and reveal Derek’s favorite cake. Stiles knows it’s his favorite, though Derek would never admit so. He also had to stand in queue for like half an hour, because people seemed to crave cake on Christmas.

Derek is just staring at the cake, so the teen shrugs and puts the first present in his lap. “Happy Birthday! Though this first present is for Christmas, but whatever.”

Derek looks to Stiles, mumbles “Thanks,” and starts unwrapping the present.

It’s a scrapbook of the Beacon Hills pack. Pictures Stiles collected and started to put together in the book some time ago. He thought it would be a good thing to remind himself of the things that had happened. Good and bad things, but mostly the people they have met since Scott was turned.

He didn’t mean to give it to anyone, but thought it would make Derek happy either way. It was nearly finished, he just forgot about it until this morning. He had to make a few changes, but it didn’t take long to finish. Now he just hoped that Derek would like it.

Derek is looking through the scrapbook and even has a small smile on his face one or two times. When he finishes he looks up and says, “You chose great pictures.”

Stiles grins, asks, “Right? I know you probably don’t wanna be around us teenagers all the time, but I thought you might want something to remind you that it’s not always bad.” Then he takes the other present and looks down at it thoughtfully.

A hand on his own pulls him back from spacing out.

“Stop thinking so much. I know you- I know you want to make others happy and put thought in what you give. I’m sure I’ll like it. Whatever it is.”

Stiles swallows. He doesn’t mean for Derek to cheer him up when he was here to give Derek something nice. So he nods and holds out the second present.

Derek takes it and unwraps it slowly, knowing that it obviously holds more meaning. He gasps when he sees what it is and when Stiles looks up he notices that Derek’s eyes are watering.

Stiles starts to freak out, thinks about how to apologize and get out. He didn’t mean to make Derek sad and-

“Where did you find this?”

The teen snaps back to attention and finds Derek looking at him with awe in his eyes. “Um… my mom loved to take pictures and one time she mentioned how she often went into the woods? I thought maybe I find a picture of the Hale House but then found this. And yeah…,” Stiles looks down. Thinking about it this was kind of embarrassing, the present holding so much meaning on both ends. Before he can change his mind he rushes out, ” _Ijustthoughtyoumightlikeit_.”

Silence follows and when it drags on too long the teen looks up to find Derek smiling at the picture with a look in his eyes he never saw before. He looks up then to meet Stiles gaze and keeps the smile, says, “I love it. Thank you, Stiles. I- I can’t even describe how much this means to me.”

Seeing Derek this happy brings a smile to his face as well. After a moment he breaks the silence, “How about watching a movie? It’s your Birthday, so you can decide. And we have that cake and maybe we can find a place that delivers food today?”

When he doesn’t get an answer he turns back to Derek, finding the man looking at him with a look he can’t quite decipher. “Um…”

Derek puts his presents on the coffee table and grabs Stiles’ hand to pull him toward his bed. The teen just goes along and sits down on the bed and when he looks up again Derek has turned into a wolf, shredded clothes around him on the ground.

Stiles doesn’t have much more time to say anything before the wolf is on him, pushing him onto his back on the bed and lying down on him. His tail wagging and his mouth looks like one big smile.

The teen laughs and puts his arms around Derek. Because there is no way he’s going to pass on a chance to cuddle with Derek, especially his fluffy self - even if he’d prefer to cuddle with human Derek more, too.

They both know that Derek isn’t good at talking about feelings or anything in general, really. So this comes pretty close to showing affection as it can be. And Stiles wonders if he has ever seen Derek so happy ever before. And he’s pretty sure he hasn’t.

Stiles keeps petting the wolf who in return starts to purr. The teen laughs, says, “If you just want to be petted, you could have told me. We can make it a daily thing. Derek’s daily belly rubs or petting sessions.”

Derek lets out a small growl that sounds way too playful to be nothing but amusement over Stiles’ antics.

After half an hour and some drifting off to sleep, Stiles clears his throat. “So, how about the Big Bad Wolf lets Red Riding Hood up now, so that we can eat that cake and watch a movie?”

The wolf huffs but gets up either way. He disappears in the hole that still decorates the loft and comes out dressed again. Meanwhile Stiles got his laptop ready and fetched two forks from the kitchen for the cake.

They settle down and Derek proves what secret dork he is, because he chooses How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Stiles would comment on it, if he wouldn’t love the movie, because it’s something his mom used to watch with him every year on Christmas.

“We kids always watched it on Christmas before dinner,” Derek mumbles and this time Stiles is sure that the tip of his ears are red.

This decides it for him though and he just starts the movie while cuddling closer to Derek. If someone would ask, he’d say that he is cold after he had an animal warming him for half an hour just moments ago.

And if the spend the evening watching stupid Christmas movies together and not giving a damn about anything else, then who could judge them? Because both Stiles and Derek haven’t been this happy in a long time.


End file.
